Cheat days and cheat meals are great and can be the key that keeps you motivated and recharges you, so you stay excited about sticking to your exercise and nutrition program.

While the cheat day is designed to be a chance to relax and free yourself from the strict meals plans of the week, there are some guidelines that will help you reach your health and fitness goals.

Without following the suggestions below you run the risk of undoing the positive results of your hard work.

The first question you have to ask yourself is:“what are my current weight loss goals?”

If you have 20 pounds or more to lose, then you will want to stick to a much healthier cheat day. Try to consume 2 or 3 clean meals and then use ONE cheat meal that contains your favorite food with a small piece of dessert.

If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, then you can be much more loose with your cheat day. Try to stick to the following guidelines as much as possible but you may use the day to enjoy your favorite foods and relax a little.

Cheat day guidelines:

- Make sure breakfast is not a binge meal and includes a lean protein.

- Drink 50 to 75 ounces of filtered water before noon. This will help prevent dehydration, set up the digestive system for a healthy cheat day, and prevent cravings early in the day.

- You can fill up and satisfy yourself at each meal, but don’t over stuff yourself or eat just for the sake of eating.

- Try to avoid a lot of alcohol when cheating. If you do consume alcohol on this day - make sure you do it AFTER a few cheat meals, otherwise you could sabotage the hormonal effect of the cheat day.

- Try to avoid a lot of deep fried foods and high fructose corn syrup. Deep fried foods are basically void of any nutritional value and therefore don’t provide any metabolic or hormonal benefits for the cheat.

- Schedule some type of intense workout the morning of your cheat day.

- Don‘t weigh yourself for at least 2 to 3 days after your cheat day. This will keep you psychologically in the right spot because any weight you‘ve gained is just water weight from carbs.

For more information and further details about how to maximize your cheat day check out the following programs: